The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015, are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 23, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

KIRKUS REVIEW

This volume in the Notable American series details with exceptional clarity the talent and complex life of Alexander Hamilton, born out-of-wedlock in the British West Indies. Whitelaw (Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1996, etc.) chronicles how Hamilton's perseverance, intelligence, and hard work came to the attention of a Presbyterian minister, who sent him to college in America at age 16 where ``in two years, he completed five years of college work'' at King's College (now Columbia). Hamilton joined the fight for independence and became a well-regarded officer in the Continental Army, where commander-in-chief George Washington made him his aide-de-camp at age 19. Instrumental at the Constitutional Convention, Hamilton was the country's first Secretary of the Treasury, but Whitelaw delineates how his self-destructive tendencies thwarted his talent and eventually led to his death in an unlawful dual with Aaron Burr. This is an evenhanded portrait of a brilliant leader who fell victim to his human frailties, but it also illustrates the conflicting forces that are manifest in many leaders today. (b&w reproductions and photos, glossary, chronology, sources, index) (Biography. 12-14)

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